Do we all keep ammo in gun safes??

[FLChinook]

Here's a thought. I added a tongue-in-cheek comment to another thread about having more space in my gun safe (for more revolvers, of course) if I didn't store so much ammo there.

That got me thinking... do I need to store my ammo in my gun safe?

We lived in the UK for a number of years and you not only had to keep all your ammo in a safe but the police could appear at any time and do an inspection (are all guns accounted for? is all ammo accounted for?). We are not at that point (yet) but that's where I got into this habit.

So, where do we store our ammo?

[SerenityNetworks]

In a locked cabinet, in a completely different area of the house than the guns.

NRA Life Member
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"There are some ideas so preposterous that only an intellectual will believe them." - Malcolm Muggeridge

[Cheapshooter]

Not the same safe, but a secured "locker". More like a closet with a metal exterior door with dead bolt lock in it. Plus the "gun room" that contains the safes, ammo locker, work bench, and reloading bench is also secured with a metal door with 2 dead bolt locks. No windows, 3 concrete exterior walls, and the partition wall is also framed with metal studs, reinforced, then dry walled on the outside, exterior wood paneling on the inside. In addition it is in the back of a laundry room with cloths racks in front of the door so it is not as noticeable. Then of course there are the alarms.

[iraiam]

In a locked metal cabinet bolted down, this is just for storage. I keep a loaded weapon in the house at all times.

[BigJimP]

I literally have it stacked up in boxes ...on top of my safe / by caliber...

Kids are all grown / when grandkids are here...my shop is locked ...so noone is in or out of there unless I or my wife are with them.

No, its not locked up.../ although if I had a reason to...it'd be easy to make a shop cabinet plywood box - with a simple door on it / and a padlock or whatever....

[FLChinook]

When we talk about "locked metal cabinets", what do we mean? Like an office cabinet (light weight) or something more substantial? That would obviously not be fireproof and in a house fire could perhaps put fire fighters at risk. Is fire-proofing not that important?

In my youth, I seldom had more than one carton of ammo at one time but the situation is considerably more complex now ( many calibers, many bullet types, etc).

[FLChinook]

The reason this thread is under "Revolvers" can be found in my opening query, i.e., the need to have more space in my gun safe for REVOLVERS...

OK, it's a bit of a stretch but that's my story and I'm sticking to it...

[jasmith85]

I just keep most of my ammo in a drawer. I rarely have more than 200 rounds at any given time so I see no reason to find a better place for it.

[Skadoosh]

I keep my ammo in an old two drawer file cabinet right next to the safe.

SerenityNetworks wrote:

In a locked cabinet, in a completely different area of the house than the guns.

Why?

[NWPilgrim]

I don't see why ammo would need to be locked up. It is not going to do anything by itself. We never had an issue with our kids, or when I was a kid, by having ammo stacked on shelves or in unlocked cabinets. I have way more ammo than would fit in even a large safe or two. I have one HD shelving unit loaded with ammo cans of ammo and components and more ammo boxes on another shelving unit and a couple of cabinets. I keep some HD ammo with the guns but all the range and reserve ammo, and components are on the open shelves.

[TheTinMan]

Funny you should ask. My shotgun ammo is locked up in the safe. A holdover from when my daughter was younger and I kept everything locked up. I need more space for revolvers too and asked myself "What the heck do I need these shotgun shells in the safe for?"

[allaroundhunter]

Well, my ammo is in the gun safe because it is fireproof. Better safe than sorry is the only reason I need.

Sent from my HTC One X

[2damnold4this]

I've got some ammo in the safe and other ammo in military ammo cans outside the safe. I don't think firefighters would be at risk from the ammo in the cans in the event of a fire.

[carguychris]

When we talk about "locked metal cabinets", what do we mean? Like an office cabinet (light weight) or something more substantial? That would obviously not be fireproof and in a house fire could perhaps put fire fighters at risk. Is fire-proofing not that important?

This topic comes up fairly frequently.

Ammo is actually far more dangerous in a fire when it's contained in a strongly-built and tightly-sealed container. This allows internal pressure to build up to extremely dangerous levels. The term commonly used for a strong and sealed container that contains gunpowder is a BOMB.

Uncontained ammo will "pop" harmlessly in a fire, like a July 4th firecracker. The flying bits of metal from the case and primer are only dangerous within a foot or two. The bullet actually won't travel as far as the other pieces because it's so much more massive.

The International Fire Code states that ammo and powder should be stored in ordinary wooden cabinets. Wood burns and won't contain much pressure, so the ammo inside won't cause a dangerous explosion.

The protective gear and face shields worn by firefighters are more than adequate to protect them from uncontained ammo fragments, even if the ammo were to ignite while the firefighter is standing right next to it. Ammo in a strong and sealed container, on the other hand, may kill someone several feet away, even if he/she is standing on the other side of a wall from it.

[iraiam]

I don't see why ammo would need to be locked up. It is not going to do anything by itself. We never had an issue with our kids, or when I was a kid, by having ammo stacked on shelves or in unlocked cabinets. I have way more ammo than would fit in even a large safe or two. I have one HD shelving unit loaded with ammo cans of ammo and components and more ammo boxes on another shelving unit and a couple of cabinets. I keep some HD ammo with the guns but all the range and reserve ammo, and components are on the open shelves.

I agree, I just store my guns, extra ammo, laptop computers, and other stuff locked up in case of a thief entering when I'm not home.

I would like to have a fire resistant safe, but I would need a MUCH bigger house to put the darn thing in. I have a heavy gage steel gun cabinet with drill proof locks, but it is not fire resistant.

[dayman]

Without a barrel around it to contain and direct the discharge there isn't enough powder in a cartridge to cause any major issues. There was actually a myth-busters episode that covered it.
You wouldn't want to be right next to it, but if your house is burning so hot that your ammo starts popping while you're in the room some minor lacerations are going to be the least of your worries.

I keep mine in a footlocker

[22-rimfire]

When we talk about "locked metal cabinets", what do we mean? Like an office cabinet (light weight) or something more substantial? That would obviously not be fireproof and in a house fire could perhaps put fire fighters at risk. Is fire-proofing not that important?

I use a metal cabinet similar to those used in offices. I could be locked but it is never locked in my house. I am not worried about the "metal cabinet" becoming a "bomb". I am not particularly worried about a burgler taking my ammo either. That is a lot of weight to lug out of the house.

[Belve]

in a secure locker... the lockers are much cheaper then safes and provide great storage

[JWT]

In a metal gun cabinet. Installed moveable shelves in it. Lockable to keep the grandkids out.

[kilimanjaro]

A safe is too expensive to keep ammo inside. Also, in a fire I don't want cooked rounds bouncing around striking the valuable firearms.

[FLChinook]

Installed moveable shelves in it.

I found a very small gun cabinet that fits in a little 12"x12" corner (SentrySafe G0135) but it's pretty expensive for an ammo cabinet and it's designed for guns so it only has one shelf.

How did you install movable shelves in your cabinet?

Thanks

[Aguila Blanca]

Originally Posted by FLChinook

Do we all keep ammo in gun safes??

Unpossible.

If I bought enough gun safe volume for all my ammo, I'd never be able to afford to buy (or build) more ammo.

When we were adopting a couple of years ago, the adoption social worker who did our home study about had a cow when she found out that I not only own a gun, I actually own GUNZ! (plural). We got through that, then she started on the, "You have to store all the ammunition in locked containers." I pointed out to her that there's no state or Federal law requiring this, and she defaulted to, "But we do."

I picked up a couple of (ab)used steel office-type storage cabinets and slapped padlocks on them. It got us through the home visit/inspection ... I didn't have the heart to tell her they weren't enough to hold all the ammo. I'm sure to her what she saw was an "arsenal" anyway.

[Daggitt]

The reason to lock up the ammo separately is the thief will have to break in two locks to shoot you with your own gun and ammo. We leave no unlocked guns or ammo out. I think that far and away the best practice , if you have a way to lock it up. As pointed out , plywood cabinets are pretty economical to build. One more obstacle.

[sigcurious]

Just me and the dogs, and I don't think they've figured out how to load magazines or use guns...yet

As such the ammo just hangs out with the safe, not in it.

[jmr40]

I keep most of my ammo in a cabinet in a separate room from the gunsafes. It does not lock, but is a good way to organize everything. The kids are grown and gone so I'm not too worried about them getting into it. I used to keep the ammo in the walk-in closet off the master bedroom, but it was not well organized and took up a lot of space. My wife found this cabinet at a discount store just to keep my gun-stuff in so she could have more room in the closet.

http://s1129.beta.photobucket.com/us...44140066376601